School's in: NRMA calls for safety audits
Wednesday 5 February 2025: A new report by the NRMA has called for the urgent audit of school zones as more than 40 per cent of parents and carers surveyed witnessed a near-miss or collision in the last 12 months in or near a school zone.
The NRMA has today released its ‘School’s In’ report as students return to classrooms for Term One. The report has revealed that the top five NSW speed camera locations alone amassed almost 27,000 fines in the last financial year.
The NRMA is today calling for safety audits of school zones to be conducted, beginning with the school zones amassing the most number of fines:
- Woodville Road, Chester Hill – Southbound 7,813 fines
- Princes Highway, Kogarah – Southbound 5,642 fines
- Victoria Road, Ryde – Eastbound 5,173 fines
- Lane Cove Road, North Ryde – Northbound 4,366 fines
- The Boulevarde, Strathfield – Northbound 3,933 fines
In response to community concerns the NRMA conducted a physical audit of the Victoria Road Ryde school zone. Worryingly, the audit found missing speed camera warning signage for cameras on Victoria Road Eastbound– one of the state’s busiest highways.
The warning signs are critical to alerting drivers they are entering a school zone and need to slow down. They are particularly useful for motorists who are not local and unfamiliar with the area.
School’s In included a survey of more than 550 parents and carers of school-aged children in NSW and the ACT. It found nearly 60 per cent (56%) identified speeding as their top concern, followed by a lack of parking (50%) and parents stopping illegally to drop off or pick up children (42%).
The report found parents and carers want more kiss and drop zones (52%), increased parking (50%) and alterative school access off main roads (36%) to improve school zone safety.
NRMA spokesperson Peter Khoury said Australian school zones were extremely safe however more could be done to their physical layout to make them safer.
“Children are our most vulnerable road users and there is overwhelming community support for school zones that are only about keeping children safe,” Mr Khoury said.
“However, we need to be smarter about how we use school zones - it’s unacceptable to simply install a speed camera in a school zone and say the job is done.
“An audit of all school zones involving physical site visits - not just desktop research - is urgently needed to help identify safety improvements needed such as more kiss and drop zones, pedestrian fencing, crossings, and changes to parking signs.”
Schools In also calls for a child restraint diversion program and further education for parents on properly restraining children and supporting older children travelling to school independently.
“Knowing how best to properly restrain children in car seats can be confusing for some parents and the NRMA believes we should be helping them to make the right choices,” Mr Khoury said.
“The NRMA is calling for a diversion program for first-time offenders to educate parents and carers on how to correctly restrain children in lieu of a fine. This will especially assist families from low socio-economic backgrounds deemed high risk to help keep their children safe.”
